Most televisions do not come packaged with their own mounting frames and it can sometimes be a daunting task selecting the right one for your needs let alone trying to actually mount it on a wall.

Fixing lcd or plasma tv frames to walls can be a tricky business especially if the fitter has little or no previous experience with do it yourself projects. Also sufficient time should be set aside to carefully plan and consider where in the room you are going to place the television set.

Choosing the right frame

The television is more often than not the focal point of the family sitting room and there is nothing better than watching a great movie in the company of loved ones. That said when the television is not switched on, your gaze will still unfortunately be drawn to it but instead it will now be a depressing empty back square

Fortunately you can buy custom plasma tv frames that smartly conceal the set in a number of different ways:-

Firstly and probably the oldest method is to hide the screen in a self contained unit looking not dissimilar to a wooden cabinet. The motorised mechanism allows the screen when switched on to rise from the cabinet. This is best suited as at the foot of the bed in the style of an ottoman.

You can also hang plasma tv frames from the ceiling! These ingenious motorised designs allow for the tv to either drop or fold down from a concealed panel in the ceiling. These are probably the most costly plasma tv frames on the market and careful consideration needs to be taken into account when assessing the structure of the building bearing in mind the weight of a large plasma screen.

The most popular and fashionable art of camouflage is to hide the screen from view behind a picture. Again, there are various ways this can be done. Typically the screen would be hidden from view by a hand picked piece of artwork complete with frame. This would either roll or rise up or slide to the side. This is probably the cheapest and most practical method to hide your screen and would be ideally suited to the sitting room above a mantelpiece.

Many of the specialised plasma tv frames will also allow the screen to be tilted or swivelled to achieve the optimum viewing angle. The design opportunities are endless and you can even buy a plasma that turns into a mirror! How cool would that be to be brushing your teeth in the bathroom whilst watching the breakfast show picture in picture!

Groundwork and Preparation

The majority of us will simply be installing standard wall mounted plasma tv frames which the average Joe should be quite capable of fitting if the correct planning and preparation is adhered to.

Read your tv manual for mounting guidelines. Some models require the use of specific plasma tv frames whilst others will be compatible with a range of third party frames.

Make sure the spot where you intend to hang the screen is not in direct sunlight making it difficult to view.

Also check the maximum weight capacity of the frame and that it will support your television set. Make sure the wall is free from any obstacles and certainly check for electrical wires and pipe work that may be hidden in the wall.

Ensure you have the right tools to hand. A power drill, tape measure, screwdriver, pencil and spirit level will all be essentials.

Finally make sure you have a friend available with strong and steady hands to assist you as these sets can weigh in excess of 90lbs. Trying to hang anything straight on a wall single-handed is difficult enough let alone a plasma television.

If careful planning and preparation together with accurate measurements made, you will have the job done in no time at all!

For a layman, there seems to be no difference between a plasma and LCD TV. Both provide high-resolution, high-contrast images and both are flat, sleek and can be mounted on a wall. The difference lies in the technology that drives them.

Plasma TVs work with inert gases like xenon or neon, which are excited by electric pulses from specialized cells called pixels. This makes the gases glow. These glowing gases, in turn, produce the correct blend of red, blue and green light on the pixels. The pixels are illuminated by a fluorescent light bulb, which is driven by semiconductor software on the motherboard.

LCDs are actually thin film transistors (TFT), which contain liquid filled crystals between two plates of glass. LCDs work by blocking out unwanted light. When the signal hits the TFTs, they contort to a required angle, thus allowing only the requisite amount of light to pass through. A lamp behind the screen or a thin LCD bulb provides illumination to the TFT.

LCD TVs and plasma TVs have their individual strengths and weaknesses. Plasma TVs show better contrasts. Contrast means the ratio between the blackest black and the whitest white. A plasma TV can produce contrasts of even 3000 to 1, which is very high by LCD standards. LCD TVs can provide contrasts up to 900 to 1. However, in LCD technology, even a low contrast ratio can produce much better images.

Plasma TVs produce colors by addition of red, blue and green while LCD TVs produce colors by blocking unwanted light from the spectrum. Hence, plasma TVs produce colors by additive principle, while LCD TVs do the same by subtractive principle. That's why plasma TVs are much better at producing colors than LCD TVs.

Though plasma technology wins over LCD technology in color, contrast and brightness, LCD wins hands down when it comes to the functionality. LCD TVs have greater longevity. Most LCD TVs can last up to twice the lifetime of a plasma TV. LCD TVs are also better suited to usage at higher altitudes or while traveling, because LCD technology does not use any gases, and is not subjected to air pressure.

LCD TVs are also energy efficient, as they require less voltage. This helps in reducing electricity bills.

Earlier LCD TVs were priced much higher than plasma TVs. But due to stiff competition, their prices have come down drastically. According to their current standing, LCD TVs cost only marginally more than plasma TVs.

One of the most common debates that comes up whenever someone decides to buy a new TV, is whether they should buy an LCD TV or a different type of TV, such as Plasma.

Many people are unsure about the pros and cons of each different type of technology, so today I?m going to tell you the differences between these two modern technologies.

The first thing you need to know is how the two technologies are different. A plasma TV uses two gases (neon and xenon) which is trapped between two layers of glass. The gases are manipulated to show the images on your screen.

An LCD TV is made out of two transparent layers which are glued together. One side has a kind of polymer that holds the liquid crystals in place. The crystals are then manipulated to display the images you see.

Okay? that?s enough of the science. What?s the pros and cons of each type of TV?

Firstly, plasma TV?s main feature is their size. You can have a very large plasma TV, that would be much cheaper compared to the same size screen in LCD form. Another key feature is the contrast ratios. They are very good with plasma TV?s. They are especially good for rendering dark, night time scenes in movies.

However, the plasma TV technology isn?t without it?s faults. Some people may experience something called ?burn in?. This is when you have a static image on your screen too long. It can cause the image to burn into the TV for some time. There are methods of removing this, however. But that?s beyond the scope of this article.

Plasma TV?s also have a lower ?lifetime? than a LCD TV. They won?t last as long as an LCD TV, which can last an astonishing 60,000 hours.

So what about LCD TV?s? What are the pros and cons?

With LCD TV?s there?s no burn-in problem. They also produce less heat and run at cooler temperatures compared to the plasma TVs.

One of the disadvantages of LCD TV technology is the problem of ?ghosting?, which is when fast moving images leave a trail on your screen (although admittedly, this is becoming less of a problem with the newer low response time TVs).

Another disadvantage is the possibility of ?dead pixels?. This is when you have a little black spec on your screen, where the pixel has died? and therefore cannot display any color. Most retailers won?t accept a return unless there?s over 6 or more dead pixels. So if you only have one or two, you are stuck with it (although some people don?t even notice them, because they are very small).

So in conclusion, both technologies have their individual pros and cons. If you want a very large TV, then you may prefer a plasma. Personally, I think LCD is the way to go if you want a TV under 37?. LCD TV?s last much longer, and the quality of picture has improved dramatically over the last few years. They really are a good investment.

Henry Tate owns the TV Buyers Guide Blog, where he gives free advice and information on all aspects of buying a new TV. There's also a popular forum where you can share your questions and concerns. For more useful articles and information, especially on Sony LCD TV's, be sure to visit his blog right now.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Plasma TV's and LCD TV's should not be confused with each other, as some people tend to do. Plasma televisions basically use a plasma discharge inside, compared to LCDs which uses a mercury based active matrix system. This TV tends to be more popular among households these days compared to LCD TV's and this is simply because of one thing; the price.

Usually, the price of a Plasma TV would be far cheaper than an LCD TV. This is due to the cost of producing the LCD display panel and the quality of the LCD display itself. Although in general the Plasma TV's resolution is not as good as an LCD TV's, it can still produce very sharp images compared to CRT TV's with the help of various technology.

Worthiness

Sometimes when it comes to buying Plasma TV's, many people do not really know the real aspects behind choosing the correct one. There are many different sizes of Plasma TV's, but when you choose one, make sure the TV does not take up too much space in your house.

This is because unlike LCD displays, even the smallest Plasma TV is 40 inches in dimension. And usually Plasma TV's come with a mounting stand, which nowadays are pretty fashionable compared to the TV itself. The TV is not usually beyond 4 inches in thickness, meaning to say that you can put it right next to your wall without anything next to it, and nobody will realize it's even there.

One big difference about Plasma TV's in general compared to LCD TV's is the brightness of the picture as well as the response time of the moving images. Compared to LCD TV's, Plasma TV's are generally not so bright, but these days with so much improvement, the brightness has increased, and sometimes you can't even differentiate between the two.

Response time refers to the time that images take to shift from one frame to another, usually calculated in milliseconds. The lesser it is, or the faster it is, the better. This is because when it is faster, there won't be any ghostly images forming up when there are transitions from white images to black ones.

Another main aspect to consider when it comes to buying Plasma TV's would be the lifetime of the televisions. Usually the manufacturers guarantee a lifetime of 60,000 hours or sometimes more. These days, the lifetime has been extended up to 70,000 hours or even more in many cases. You have to make sure that your TV will last at least 60,000 hours before the brightness begins to fade and the images can't be seen properly.

What you should most definitely know about plasma tv before handing over your hard earned cash!!! Visit www.whichplasma.tv

Friday, August 28, 2009

Plasma TVs add a new dimension to watching television. The huge screens with the life-sized characters make the viewer feel like he is in the room with the characters. The viewer feels as if he is a part of the action. The plasma TV screen may be several feet wide and high and only a few inches thick so they can fit into most rooms. If you are used to the smaller conventional style televisions, when you first see a plasma TV with its big screen, it takes the viewer a few minutes to adjust to it because the viewer is not used to the size. But the viewer will quickly adjust to the size of the television.

The traditional television is based on cathode ray technology where a beam of electrons is shot through a tube in phosphorus atoms. The atoms light up and produce the image you see on the screen. After the cathode ray technology came the LCD technology. LCD technology is based on liquid crystal pixels consisting of red, green and blue held in between two layers of glass. An electrical charge makes them light up and produces the image on the television screen. This is similar to the functioning of a computer monitor screen.

The plasma technology is a relatively new concept in televisions. Plasma technology consists of xenon and neon gas filled cells. When electrical current passes through these cells, they light up in the different colors and produce an image on the screen. The intensity of the electrical pulses results in different shades of each color pixel. The screen can range from forty two inches to sixty five inches. The screens are flexible to the touch since they are so big.

Unlike other television technology the plasma screen can be subject to burn-in. This is a situation where if an image is on the screen for a certain period of time, the image will burn-in and will have shadow remain on the screen. If you use your television for video games, this is something to take into consideration because burn in can result from video games. Even so, the plasma screen is terrific for the graphics of video games.

Plasma TVs are not cheap. They start at approximately four thousand dollars. Depending on the style and features you want, the price can be higher. Once you decide on the style and model you want, shop around to find the best price.

Joseph is the proud owner of Tvs Guide, a website that will explain everything you need to know about Plasma Tvs. We invite you to visit our site today and see what we have to offer.

So recently my old 20" CRT TV was starting to finally go out, and I knew now was a perfect time to go for a nice new plasma TV. I didn't really know to much about Plasma TVs, so I did what I always do, and turned to online reviews like this one. I searched around for some time until I found a TV I thought was perfect. After that however, it was a matter of finding the right price for it. So of course I went to one of my most trusted online sites for various products, Overstock.com.

I looked up my favorite pick of Plasma TVs, the Toshiba 50HP95 50-inch Theaterwide Plasma HDTV, the price was a little higher than I wanted to pay, however I was determined to get a TV that I would be happy with, that would last a while. So I went ahead and got it, the best part was the shipping was only $1!!!!! which made shopping online even easier than trying to pick it up from a local store and getting it to my house.

When I got the TV home, I quickly set it up, and hooked it up to my DVD player, simply put..... Kill Bill vol. 1 looked AMAZING! I even messed around with the split screen, which sadly, one of the split screens was larger than my old TV!

If you want to check out the TV, you can get it here for a really good price: Toshiba 50HP95 50-inch Theaterwide Plasma HDTV

Only other thing I could reccomend to make setting this TV up easier, since my old cheap entertainment center didn't really handle the weight, is a good wall mount like the one I got after having to leave the TV on the floor since my entertainment center cracked: Bentley Flat Panel/Plasma 32-63 inch Wall Mount

The hottest thing to happen in the area of home entertainment has been Plasma TV. It simply makes your viewing experience splendid, to say the least. It gives a crystal clear, high quality resolution images making it a winner all the way. The monitor that displays it all is just afew inches in thickness saving much of the precious space.

Not just that, it also brings down your electricity bills because its energy consumption is far more economical than that of its old counterparts. And for those who like their music loud, the good news is that the image remains undisturbed even if you place large speakers near the screen and turn the sound full blast.

Now that you have decided to go for a Plasma television, you need to know how to shop for it. It being an expensive equipment, you would definitely like to get the best deal available. Here is how you should proceed.

1.The first step is deciding the budget. It is important to know as to how much you want to spend. Collect the price catalogs of a few companies that offer Plasma TVs, and make your budget considering the average prices. Do keep in mind the essential features you want your television to have while making the budget. Once you have made the budget, stick to it. Starting generally at $ 700, Plasma TVs can go up to $ 4,000. Some of them may be priced even higher.

2.The next step is to decide if you want your plasma television come with a TV tuner or just a plasma display would do. The more expensive kind have have an attached tuner while in the cheaper varieties you need to attach a tuner box separately.

3.Make sure that the television gives a quiet performance. Some of the Plasma TVs have been found to be noisy because they use fans for cooling. The noise, obviously, ruins your viewing experience.

If you have planned properly there is no reason why you wouldn't get value for money. Since there is a great variety available in the market, you need to be a little diligent in choosing the right one for yourself.